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Ford Pulls The Plug on Electric Cars
Cytos writes "Apparently Ford has called it quits on their EV program Th!nk Mobility, stating "... we don't believe that this is the future of environmental transport for the mass market." Ford had purchased Think in 1990 and did a short run of advertisments in California for it's lease trial, even involving Hertz in helping out. I was really hoping to see this pan out, I guess our only hope for an EV now is the Toyota Rav4 EV." From the sound of it, most companies are looking at hybrid cars.
They look like freakin' golf carts.
Why do they look like golf carts?
Because whoever designed them knows nothing about why cars sell.
Oh, wait, one looks like a pickup truck. And we all know that the whole point of buying a pickup truck is to get that economizing cachet.
Either Ford made a huge mistake buying Think, or they did it to appease nascent environmentalism, or they did it to put Think out of business before Think got the idea to put a Porsche Carerra body on one.
--Blair
1. ya think maybe these guys want to recoupe their R&D costs? Think that might affect the price?
2. Hmm, 2 hours in 5 minutes charge, do you mind wearing a lead suit while filling up? And it'll probably cook your passenger if they don't stand back at a safe distance.
3. Must ont look like a plastic toy. Hmm. Based on battery technology, the REST of the car has to be THAT MUCH MORE efficient to make up for it. You just won't get a car you want, that goes as far as you want with a normal coefficient of Drag.
Go do a little research, heck, take a PHYSICS class before you make those statements. Try to understand the constraints involved, they ain't trivial.
Fuel Cell/Hydrogen is a very promising way to go. It's not really any more volatile than that tank of Unleaded you filled up with, and the reaction generates power and water. so why isn't it pervasive? Infrastructure. You can't drive a hydrogen car without a place to fill up (your 2 hours for 5 minutes would be doable with hydrogen), and you can't build a place to fill up without Hydrogen using cars!
"Draco dormiens nunquam titillandus."
You would charge it at home, overnight... I drive about 60 miles/day. Where's the problem?
The problem is that I drive a hell of a lot more than 60 miles a day.
Perhaps you could drive more safely?
Actually, slow drivers such as yourself are the ones that cause more accidents than speeders.
That's right, we all like big cars. We wouldn't be hated by half the world if we weren't selfish, "me me me, fuck you" American$. Just remember you're paying for the next terrorist hit at the pump when you gas up your SUV (Shithole lUser Vehicle).
I like my hybrid, but I'd love to have an electric. But, most of our power out here is coal and nuclear power generated, neither are technologies I want to support. I'll take an average 68MPG until I move nearer a hydro-plant...
You're a fucking self-righteous cock, you know that? The terrorism bullshit had nothing to with oil, you fascist prick. This country also happens to be about choice. You can drive your little golf cart, and I'll drive my HumVee.
It must not look like a plastic toy. Make it look like any other car I've owned. I dont want people to look at my car and say "hey, look at the guy in an electric car". I don't want a piece of molded plastic with four tiny wheels. I want a normal 4-door sedan.
We *must* give up fat cars. The days of fat cars are gone!. Face up to it.
We only need powerful cars to impress girls and compete for road space with OTHER powerful cars. IOW, it is a wasteful escalation.
We have big fat selfish bloatmobiles that hog the road and the environment.
Get with reality, America. Kiss the 57 Chevy goodbye. James Dean is dead history, so stop being a selfish brat and come back to reality.
(And this is after I trashed the Escort for being wimpy in another topic. I would not mind if all the other cars were also wimpy. This is in regard to the "escalation" comment above.)
Tax Road Bloat. If you don't need a fat engine for provable business reasons, then don't allow ownership. This is the only way to stop this silly selfishness.
Table-ized A.I.